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Domestic Space in the Literature and Film of Weimar Berlin

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Domestic Space in the Literature and Film of Weimar Berlin Inside in the City: Domestic Space in the Literature and Film of Weimar Berlin by Courtney C. Johnson A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Anton Kaes, Chair Professor Deniz Göktürk Professor Mark Sandberg Spring 2016 1 Abstract Inside in the City: Domestic Space in the Literature and Film of Weimar Berlin by Courtney C. Johnson Doctor of Philosophy in German Designated Emphasis in Film Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Anton Kaes, Chair This dissertation explores the relationship between domestic interiors and urban exteriors in Weimar literature and film. Interiors have been neglected in scholarship about Weimar Großstadtliteratur (big-city literature); scholars have focused on the street scene and the psychological effects of industrial capitalism, urbanization, and commodification. While many architecture and design theorists of the time engaged with interiors as part of a plan to modernize and thus create a new city—and society—the interiors they imagined for the Neues Wohnen (New Dwelling) are conspicuously absent from contemporary novels and films. One finds instead interiors like those of the previous century. I argue that the persistence of nineteenth-century interiors in novels and films about Weimar Berlin uncovers the tensions inherent in modern city living. The expectation of what it was like to “live” in the fictional home differs from the New Dwelling of “real- world” homes. Despite their differences, both ways of dealing with modernity seek understanding and control of the urban environment. Whereas the architects of the New Dwelling strive to control modern city life through construction, the fictional imaginary explores the many ways in which the city controls and is controlled by its dwellers. In order to explore these approaches to modern living, I will present close readings of a corpus of Berlin novels and films from the Weimar Republic, focusing on Alfred Döblin’s Berlin Alexanderplatz; Erich Kästner’s Fabian; Irmgard Keun’s Das kunstseidene Mädchen; Phil Jutzi’s Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück; and Slatan Dudow’s Kuhle Wampe oder Wem gehört die Welt? My readings of these films and novels will be tested and informed by a study of manifestos and articles written by avant-garde architecture theorists including Le Corbusier, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Erich Mendelssohn, Bruno Taut, and Walter Gropius. My dissertation will nuance the topography of space that has been allotted to the modern German big-city novel and film by expanding the understanding of what it means to 2 “dwell” in the city. More broadly, this dissertation will contribute to discourses on urban space during the first quarter of the twentieth century, leading the focus (momentarily) away from skyscrapers, department stores, traffic-jammed streets, and crowded sidewalks. This study will reflect on past German writers’ and filmmakers’ understanding of interior space and their critique of thoroughly modern urban dwelling habits with an eye to the present global obsession with minimalism, micro-housing, and smaller urban footprints. i Contents Acknowledgements ii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Street Enters the Room: Urban Space and its Interiors 10 Public Space and Private Abode Share the City 11 Theory Against the Bourgeois Nineteenth-Century Interior 13 The Unhomely Home of the Past 20 Conclusion 26 Chapter 2 Domesticity in the Interior: Kitchens in Theory and in Literary Practice 28 Living the New Living in Theory 31 Cinematic “Reality” is Less Optimistic 40 Literary Domesticity Implies Tradition through Absence 57 Conclusion 61 Chapter 3 Rooms for Rent: The Interior Landscapes of Berlin’s Proletarian Domestic Spaces 62 Hilberseimer’s Theory in Praise of Proletarian Living Space 63 Fiction and One’s “Own” Rented Room 67 Conclusion 80 Chapter 4 Quadraturin for the City: Cafés, Courtyards, and Corner Bars as Urban Living Rooms 83 The Café and the City Dweller without a Kitchen 85 Eckkneipe as Twentieth-Century Parlor 88 Hinterhof as Community Den 93 Concluding Remarks 97 Bibliography 101 ii Acknowledgements If there was no such thing as a deadline, this dissertation would remain an uncompleted project. I would pick away at the topic for the rest of my life, discovering new ideas, evidence, counter-evidence, and avenues for discussion and research. Although this project forms the basis for my future body of work, the product of the earliest phase of this task is now at a resting place. The text in its current state would not be possible without the interactions I have shared with my professors and colleagues at The University of California, Berkeley, the support of my family and friends, and the inspiration of the cities in which I have spent my time during my doctoral research. The past six years have been a whirlwind of learning, networking, and personal growth. I have spent most of my time reading, researching, and writing in Berkeley, Berlin, and Seattle. These three very different cities, their histories and their skylines, have provided great inspiration for writing about what it means to live in a “modern” city. Thanks to the generous support of the Max Kade Foundation and the UC Berkeley Department of German, my research travels to Berlin, Paris, Marseilles, and Vienna have opened doors to unexpected sources and resources. I am in awe of these cities and their vibrant histories. I am profoundly indebted to my dissertation committee, the members of which supported my often-frustrating progress and encouraged me to push onward despite the struggles I encountered along the way. Their knowledgeable, intellectually challenging, and open-minded approach to my topic both informed the structure of my work and allowed it to take on organic shape. I am grateful to my dissertation chair Anton Kaes for his confidence in my abilities and unflagging support for my work throughout my time at Berkeley, as well as for his expertise and the many resources to which he guided me. His expectations of rigor, creativity, and succinctness have been invaluable to my development. It is his spirit of inquiry that now drives my work and pushes me to create an “unbelievably critical” body of writing. Deniz Göktürk has taught me much about pushing the boundaries of a discourse and searching for new interdisciplinary inroads. Her feedback, the resources at her disposal, and the stimulating conversations we shared have allowed me to expand the scope of my topic and my own thinking as a scholar. It has been a pleasure to work with Mark Sandberg as an outside reader. His own interest in the architectures of film and literature have served as an inspiration for my doctoral studies. My very first course at UC Berkeley, a Film and Media Studies seminar on “Architecture and Film” that Professor Sandberg co-taught with Professor Anne Nesbet, provided the earliest sparks of this dissertation project. The UC Berkeley Department of German has generously invested its resources, care, and time in me and my academic training. The opportunity to teach German and literature courses to brilliant students, the panoply of seminars, workshops, talks, and events offered each semester, the generous funding for research and study abroad, and the access to truly thought-provoking classes: all of this is possible only at Berkeley. Additionally, I owe thanks to Niklaus Largier for challenging and resourceful conversations that helped me to develop my dissertation topic. Karen Feldman has provided excellent practical advice about academic professionalization, and her challenging and rewarding coursework has given me a better understanding of philosophy— iii and along with it, critical theory. My faculty mentor, Elaine Tennant, has provided a towering professional role model. As a result of my involvement in the BTWH (Berkeley-Tübingen-Wien-Harvard) working group on German Modernity, I was able to share ideas with Berkeley alumni and scholars from other universities. The variety of topics we researched and discussed during meetings and annual conferences were truly special, and many of the non-canonical readings we explored have been useful for my dissertation. Of the many conversations I took part in while attending BTWH conferences, the wisdom of Rob McFarland, Michael Cowan, and Daniela Schmeiser in particular has greatly enriched the scope of this project. Within and outside of BTWH, the support of my peers at Berkeley has been instrumental, and the company of this group of like-minded individuals is both mentally stimulating and enjoyable. I am deeply thankful to Annika Orich, Tara Hottman, Sasha Rossman, Robin Ellis, Paul Dobryden, and Emiliana Kissova for their advice, the resources they shared with me, and their friendship. Finally, the support of some dear people outside of academia has helped me to fight ahead to the finish line. My friends Kyung Lee Gagum, Dani Gifford, Lauren LePage, Kimberly Kotel, Noah Hansen, Gina Rohrbach, Chelsea Reynolds, and Joe Connery have not only cheered me on, but have also helped me to progress by asking questions about my dissertation, making me explain my topic in terms with which they could connect, and reminding me to get it done. My Oma, Ingrid, and her obsession with “history,” as well as her access to family stories from just before her time (e.g., the Weimar Republic), has lent an element of self-interest to my work. My mother and father, Elwood and Regina, have continued to push me even though I long ago exceeding their educational expectations by obtaining not just one—but two—bachelor’s degrees and a master’s. Their continued support and belief in me since I was a child has provided my foundation and cornerstone. Berkeley and Seattle, 2013-2016 1 Introduction Lying on his couch, a man is mesmerized by flickering shadows that race across his ceiling.
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